Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am looking at buying a set of 17X8 wheels with an offset of 35. I will be lowering the vehicle a little, H&R springs which I believe lower the front an 1" and the rear .75". Will I be ok with a 215/45? I do not like a really low profile like a 40 series.

 

You'll most likely rub the outside fender trim because of that offset, and the lowering youll be doing.....38mm is the safer bet. Then again there are ppl with a 35 offset, but they add camber. Camber can help add more clearance.

And if you are lowering you will probably want to go with a 40 series side wall. The 45 is rather tall for that drop. Unless you drive on perfectly smooth glass road without dips you'll likely rub the top of the fender wells.

235/40/17 is a great size for 17x8's.
Search around, people are dropped on springs with 17x8's and 235/40 tires...looks dope.

 

What year and model car?

 

2002 Cooper S

 

You will have rubbing in the rear.
I had a 2003 Cooper S with H&R springs, 17x7 et38 wheels with 215/40 tires.
I had slight rubbing on the rear wheel arches when the suspension was loaded. I was able to eliminate the rubbing by removing some of the plastic wheel arch and wheel well liner.
You are planning a wider wheel, less offset (even more towards outside), and taller tire so you will have even more rubbing. It might be difficult to eliminate the rubbing in the rear.

 

Do you think I could pull off a 205/45? How much did the H&R's lower your Mini?

 

It will be close. It depends on the actual tread width when mounted on the wheel.
Hopefully someone will chime in that has run a 17x8 wheel with lowering springs.

 

Ok, thanks for your input.

 

With lowering springs and a 1" drop you will not have enough clearance for a tire that is wider or taller than OEM given a 17x8" wheel with et 35mm. Compared to OEM 17x7" the 17x8" will be about 28mm or 1.1" outward.

If you use Coilovers with ride height adjustable you can use a 45 series tire like 215/45-17 and 17x8" wheels with et35. You can also trim the rear top inner edge of the wheel arch plastic with a dremmel tool or run more rear negative camber.

If you didn't mind looking at various sizes in 40 series sidewalls there are some that are somewhat comfortable for street use-

215/40-17 tire diam. 23.7"
235/40-17 tire diam. 24.4" (same as OEM) Not good tire selection for ride comfort
245/40-17 tire diam. 24.7" is tall same as 215/45-17 and is even wider

Trouble with 205/45-17 is it is narrow for a 8" wide rim, but it can be stretched to fit, not sure if you can live with that look. In addition it was not designed to fit that wide a rim and so the side will may not act like a 45 series and perhaps ride comfort may change. Still you can buy a tire that is known to be more comfortable. Also note that many tire shops will not mount a narrow tire on a wide rim so call first to check if they will do that.

I would say that given your options is easiest is to look for a 205/45-17 tire, perhaps Michelin Pilot super sport, great on handling and also on comfort, just not as cheap.

What tire were you considering? What budget? Summer or All Season, high mileage or does it matter?

 

Thanks for all the great information^^

The two wheels I am looking at are the ESM 004

http://esmwheels.com/access/esm-004-sl-17-p-103.html

or BBS CV in a 17X7.5 et38

http://www.tuningworld.com.au/galler...ver.jpg?af86f2

My concern with the LM reps is just that, they are reps although good ones at that. The BBS are somewhat factory looking, and the ESM to me look agresive and have a nice lip. My overal oncern is when lowering I do not want to have issues with rubbing. So, the BBS look great, but the ESM may look better? HELP

 

A few things to think about with trying to use the 17x8 wheels, 35 offset, 45 series tires, and H&R springs in comparison to the 17x7, 38 offset, 40 series, and H&R spring that I used.

The 17x7, 38 offset, 215/40, and H&R rubbed the rear wheel arch and wheel well liner when the suspension was fully loaded. Both issues were eliminated with trimming of the wheel arch and wheel well liner. There was not much more that could be done because there are metal bumps under the plastic that cannot be removed so there is a limit to how much plastic trimming that can be done to eliminate rubbing.

Assuming the same offset wheel a 8" wheel will be push out 12mm (0.5") towards the inside and outside when compared to a 7" wheel. However, that does not mean that the same size tire (such as 215) mounted on a 7" and 8" wheel will actually be 25mm (1") wider, at the top of the tire, when mounted on a 8" wheel. A 215 tire will actually only be a few millimeters wider when mounted on a 8" wheel rather than a 7" wheel. So where the tire will rub on the wheel arch (near the top of the tire) might not be much different when mounted on 7 or 8" wheel but there will be a slight impact (closer to arch with 8"). A few mm does make a difference in rubbing.

The wheel offset will have a direct impact on the rubbing because the lower offset pushes the tire towards the wheel arch. Again another few mm (38 compared to 35) will make a difference.

The other problem is the overall tire height. Here are the diameters:
205/45-17 is 24.26"
215/45-17 is 24.62"
205/40-17 is 23.46"
215/40-17 is 23.77"

So your planned 215/45 is almost an 1" taller than the 215/40 that I used so the tire will be 0.43" closer to the wheel well liner. That is a lot more potential for rubbing.

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to reply with the great info! I am now leaning towards the BBS CV 17X7.5 with a 205/45. I should be ok with this correct? I found a place that has 4 new old stock being they are discontinued.

 

The width will be OK. I am a little concerned about the height and potential for rubbing up in the wheel well. I suspect you will be OK.

 

Which tire? Michelin Pilot Super Sport? If so then great.

17x7.5" et38mm will stick out 10mm or 0.4" farther than stock. Since 205/45-17 is OEM you will be fine with up to a 1" drop. In the event of any rubbing under load just note where the inner rear upper arch is rubbing and dremmel the plastic down a bit.

I had rubbing with H-sport springs and OEM tires and let it rub both the tire and the plastic and eventually it was OK. But I could not run 215/45-17 on the same 17x7" et42mm rim until I could install fully adjustable coilovers.

 

Good Year Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season

 

That is an Ultra High performance All Season tire-

Tirerack test result-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=165

OK on handling for the class, not as good for ride comfort or noise in that test.
Treadwear 500

Owners seem to like them-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS
Funny how most thought ride comfort and noise were fine.

Tirerack has them for $115 each on special with goodyear rebate of $80 on a set of tires until 7/31/13.

 

Honestly not too concerned about the noise or comfort level. I like a harsh sharp ride and I like to feel the road.

 

What about treadlife or budget?

There are better Max Summer tires in 205/45-17 than an UHP All Season tire.

You don't get as much tread life with a Max Summer tire and it won't handle cold weather but handling in dry or wet will be better.

Max Summer tires in 205/45-17
Michelin Pilot Super Sport $179 each 300 treadwear, $70 mastercard offer
Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position $109 each, 280 treadwear
Continental ExtremeContact DW $103 each, 340 treadwear